Expect the Lions to play in a lot of high scoring games

Posted by NBC Sports on August 22, 2010, 11:49 AM EST

The good news for Lions fans (and Thanksgiving Day football fans) is that Detroit’s offense should be eminently watchable this year.

Matthew Stafford led the Lions’ starters to scores on all four of his drives against the Broncos on Saturday night. He threw for 130 yards and a touchdown in 18 attempts. Calvin Johnson made another spectacular touchdown catch look routine, and rookie running back Jahvid Best looks like the real deal.

Best rushed eight times for 49 yards and caught two passes in one half of work. He’s an electric back to watch and has shown an early ability to make NFL starters miss. He ran between the tackles and lined up as a wideout. The Lions’ starters scored 16 first half points despite stalling around the ten-yard line three times.

The bad news for Lions fans is that the team’s defense doesn’t look any better. For the second straight week, Detroit’s secondary looked as bad on the field as it does on paper.

Kyle Orton carved up the Lions to the tune of 16-of-22 passes for 177 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in one half of work.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz is hoping that a rebuilt defensive line can cover up his team’s problems in the back seven, but his defensive line is unlikely to be that good.

23 Responses to “Expect the Lions to play in a lot of high scoring games”

CityByTheLake19 says:Aug 22, 2010 12:10 PM

Lions are going to go around .500 so they should be interesting to watch with all of their young talent. They are one year away from being a contender in NFC North for sure

INVAIDUH says:Aug 22, 2010 12:11 PM

though it looks good, the broncos are soft.

PurpleNGold says:Aug 22, 2010 12:13 PM

little kitties play
pouncing and chasing their tails
rolling on the turf

YourJustJealous says:Aug 22, 2010 12:15 PM

Don’t read too much into this. The Donkeys defense quite argueably will be the worst in the league this season. Jamarcus PurpleDrank could probably throw for 300 and 2 scores against this pathetic team.

billsfan1 says:Aug 22, 2010 12:26 PM

as a qb starved bills fan, i always keep an eye on other qbs.. always like orton, just thought he needed a fair shot and am starting to really be impresses with Stafford…..
these are or will be 2 quality qbs in this league

nflhof says:Aug 22, 2010 12:45 PM

Purple and Gold
Farve is old
childress is desperate and clueless
Vikings drift downward

GRpatriot says:Aug 22, 2010 12:48 PM

Suh will decapitate Favre…Accidently of course.

FumbleNuts says:Aug 22, 2010 1:00 PM

RB Jahvid Best will carry this offense.

faulkn22 says:Aug 22, 2010 1:03 PM

Lions first string D has yet to allow a TD. They have 4 sacks, a plethora or hurries, and an INT.
The front four has been killing it, but they’ve played against mediocre o-lines in Pitt and Denver.
Did anyone see the pancake Suh had? That was nasty.
Drinking the Kool-Aid.

robert ethen says:Aug 22, 2010 1:06 PM

We already expect them to play in a lot of high scoring games, like 58-0, 47-6, 61-3, …………

INVAIDUH says:Aug 22, 2010 1:08 PM

PurpleNGold..
cause you should be proud of that.

severs28 says:Aug 22, 2010 1:16 PM

Orton put most of those number up against Detroit’s second team D.

steelers rule says:Aug 22, 2010 1:22 PM

Lions 8 wins.. Bears 5 wins..

motorcityM says:Aug 22, 2010 1:43 PM

Orton threw to his STARTING WR who was matched up to our 4th string CB King. The only reason they got points on there first possession was because of a BS penalty on KVB. The Bears should be on notice, with your 7 step drops you will end up finishing the season with Dan Lefever LOL!!
PurpleNGold, I can’t wait for your team to finish 3rd in the division. As soon as the Saints take out Favre for the second straight year, your going to be leaning on the QB you snubbed for a over the hill grandpa. Good luck with that.

Visible says:Aug 22, 2010 2:17 PM

Orton had 90 yards passing with less than one minute left in the first half. Then the Lions put in their second string and Orton was able to move the ball 80 yards. This article is typical of someone who looks at stats and has no clue what really happened in the game. Terrible!!!!

ToledoLions says:Aug 22, 2010 3:26 PM

Lions starting defense looks great, especially against the run. We have been missing Delmas so far and we had our 4th string CB Eric King (who sucks donkey balls) starting yesterday. The ONLY time Orton moved the ball yesterday was against our 2nd team d-line, 3rd & 4th team secondary, and without Levy and Peterson in the game. The defense will be fine.

Lex Luger says:Aug 22, 2010 4:24 PM

3 players does not make an offense.
They still dont have a offensive line. They will win 4-5 games at the most.
Sucks to be a lion’s fan, but what can you do.
If you dont support the team, then they move. If you support them, you support the current ownership who don’t have a clue about winning football games.

sullijo says:Aug 22, 2010 4:45 PM

It’s funny that none of the Lions fans are mentioning that rookie CB Perrish Cox (#5 or #6 on the depth chart) started for Champ Bailey and DJ Williams didn’t play. Those are their 2 best defensive players now that Dumerville is out.
The Broncos started a left tackle that won’t make the team in place of Ryan Clady. Their top 3 running backs sat out the game, plus their top 2 TEs, as well as their #1 pick at WR (D. Thomas).
Oh, and to the “they only scored because of a penalty” rant. Ummmm, the first Lions score came on after a PI call on a 3rd down play.
The world must look very odd through blue shaded glasses.
Win more than 2 games, then pop off. It can’t be that hard. The Broncos have failed to win at least SEVEN games ONE TIME in the last 25 years.

Visible says:Aug 22, 2010 7:57 PM

Sullijo, are you seriously pointing out injuries??? This is the NFL, and more often than not players are injured. All of Ortons passes were against the Lions 4th string corner. The Lions were missing their fair share of players too. The point is, the Lions 1st string rocked Denvers….end of story.
As a Lions fan, I am not overly excited about this game because the Broncos are going to be awful this year. We basically beat on one of the worst teams in the AFC. It will be more impressive when it comes against a better team.

muchmaligned says:Aug 22, 2010 8:56 PM

I hate you, Rosenthal(l). Orton did not carve up the first string D. The defensive backfield notwithstanding, the D has been pretty impressive. Not one TD allowed by the first stringers. What more do you want from your defense?
Gfy.

HAUNTEDSPAWN says:Aug 23, 2010 6:35 AM

Sullijo,
How about noting that our #1 safety wasn’t in either, or our starting tight end is taking it light on the field. The last time we played Denver, what was that score again? oh yeah 44-7!! Bragging rights is still in the Lions corner.
Win more that 2 games in November and December and stop blowing the division lead to the Chargers every year. It can’t be that hard.

dewalt2990 says:Aug 23, 2010 8:51 PM

Luger you are a top notch idiot. Allow me to list the Lion’s top quality, NFL caliber, offensive threats. Stafford, Best, Megatron, Burleson, Scheffler, and Pettigrew. You havn’t watched one Lions game…the O line is looking great, preseason I know, I could count the number of times Stafford hit the ground this year, on one hand. Sucks to be a Lions fan? 90% of Lions fans stoked, so you’re wrong again..What really sucks is your pathetic attempt at knowing what you’re talking about.

azlionsfan says:Aug 25, 2010 10:17 PM

Last I checked this was a preseason game. After substantial coorelation analysis I have concluded that don’t mean sh*T.